marvelfandomcom-20200222-history
Darkhold
Also Known As: Shiatra, The Book of the Damned, The Book of Sins History The evil Elder God known as Chthon put into writing all his evil works and spells. It remained as the Darkhold after most of the Elder Gods were slain (Chthon and Set managed to escape) by the Demogorge. Humans first found the Darkhold during time of surface Atlantis. When Kull slew Thulsa Doom, Doom's followers, the Darkholders, utilized the Darkhold to create the first vampire, Varnae, dying due to wounds suffered in battle with Kull. Varnae consumed one of the Darkholders who attempted to command him, and began creating other vampires. Some surviving Darkholders managed to make off with the Darkhold before Atlantis sank. Varnae, when Atlantis sank, went into hibernation and did not revive until circa 10,000 BCE. He found that some parchments of the Darkhold had been left behind in the Flaming Mountains of Khorasha. Varnae attempted to recover these parchments. In an altercation with Conan, Red Sonja, and the sorcerer Zula, Varnae controlled the bat-like humanoids the Afterlings. Zula used the Darkhold against Varnae. Zula used a spell from the Darkhold/Chthon Scrolls that shocked Varnae. The spell went: "Shemek Iref Wenek Tjhen Inek It-Ek Chthon Djedeni Emm-Maat Wenen Taeei Hemet Ankh-Ek Isheset Antioo Djedte Nes Sep Iree NEn Renek Anhkhu Wi-Im Valka!". Zula noted that "I'm sorry the incantation ended where it did-and only hurt Lord Varnae, rather than destroying him". To Zula the words appeared in Sytgian, but it has long been known that Chthon cast a spell that makes the Darkhold appear intelligble in any language. In any event, Zula fled. Zula also used the Darkhold against the Set-worshipping sorcerer Thugra Khothan. Later Red Sonja and Zula travelled to Zamboula, Zamboula serving as the western part of the Turanian empire. Totrasmek, the priest of the deity Hanuman (note that Hindus also worship a simian deity called Hanuman), came into possession of the Chthon Scroll/Darkhold. Totramesk had been searching for years for the Darkhold. Zula recovered the Darkhold and used the scrolls to transport himself and Sonja away. Zula noted that the scroll disappeared as a result of the spell. Later historians in the notorious Vatican would note that at some point scrolls of the Darkhold were taken East during the Hyborian Age. After the Hyborian Age, Egyptians, Bablyonians, and Hebrews came to possess the Darkhold scrolls. Morgan Le Fay bound the scrolls into book form for the first time circa the 600's. Saint Brendan tore them up. In the 1100's, a heretical monk named Aelfric had reformed the Darkhold. This monk was burnt at the stake, the Darkhold with him. However, the Darkhold reformed itself, and was purchased by a trader, who was then murdered. By the 1600's, the Vatican came to possess the Darkhold. Dracula sent a thief to acquire it for him, but Calgiostro slew the thief and took it for himself. At some point the vampire Lord Ruthven may have possessed the Darkhold. Taboo, the sorcerer, claims to have found the Darkhold in an old Balkan castle. He apparently did so no earlier than 1958. Before late 1930, Gregor Russoff came to possess the Darkhold. He would later copy much of its content into the journal of his ancestor, and used it as a journal for himself. Accounts vary as to how he came to possess it. Some say he purchased, others that he took it from the sorcerer Taboo. Two accounts say that Russoff bought it. In an event, when he read of the origin of lyncanthropy in the Darkhold, Gregor Russoff (whose ancestor Grigori had been a werewolf) also contracted lycanthropy. During this time, Dracula shadowed Russoff. Possibly circa 1958 (contemporaneously with the birth of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch), Gregor Russoff attempted to raise Chthon hoping he could cure him of lycanthropy. Chthon instead apparently struck Russoff dead, though Russoff evidently somehow revived. THe High Evolutionary and Magnus managed to defeat Chthon at this point. Presumably, the revived Gregor Russoff recovered the Darkhold and somehow managed to hide his activities from the High Evolutionary and Magnus for some time. He was later slain by villagers no earlier than approximately 20 years ago. Later, Russoff's son Jack also became a werewolf. Recovering the Darkhold from Miles Blackgar, he gave it to a Father Joquez to translate. Aelfric's ghost possessed Jacquez. At the end of this struggle, Russell erroneously thought that the Darkhold was destroyed. Later, Russoff travelled to Transylvanian with the Indian woman Topaz to visit Russoff Manor. There they found Gregor Russoff's diary. Dracula came to possess the diary and left it behind in a blizzard in the Alps (since the diary contained a copy of the Montesi Formula to destroy vampires). However, Morgan Le Fay later recovered the diary. At some point Doctor Doom found a part of the Darkhold that allowed him to cast a spell to access Belasco's Limbo. Also at some point, Mephisto imprisoned a demon called Darklove into a page of the Darkhold. Also called the Shiatra Book of the Damned, the Darkhold has served as the source for the Necronomicon. 'Powers'The Darkhold's page contains a number of powerful black magic spells. However, its corrupting influence is so strong that few can use it without losing their souls and becoming possessed by Chthon. In a sense, it is the anti-thesis of the Book of The Vishanti. The Darkhold Dwarf and the Other are known to appear either to challenge those who attempt to use it, or to entice a person to use a page or spell. References *Marvel Chillers Vol. 1, No. 1 October 1975; Featuring: Modred the Mystic *Marvel Team-Up Vol. 1, No. 76 December 1978; Featuring: Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Ms. Marvel (AKA Warbird), Silver Dagger, Marie Laveau *The Avengers Vol. 1, No. 185-187 July-September 1979; Featuring: Modred the Mystic *Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Vol. 1, No. 9-10 November 1989; The Book of the Vishanti, The Curse of the Darkhold *Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Vol. 1, No. 16 April 1990; Featuring: Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm), Marie Laveau, Morbius *Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Vol. 1, No. 18 June 1990; Featuring: Varnae Category: Items Category: Unique Items Category:Magical Items Category:Image Needed Category:Copy Edit Category:Wikify